Can I stop drone delivery companies flying over my property?
Analysis: The legal landscape surrounding the use of drones is currently far from clear and many practical questions remain unanswered.
Once only found in the realm of science fiction movies, drone delivery services are now an increasingly obvious part of our urban landscape. Service providers such as Manna and Wing (the latter operated by Google’s parent company Alphabet) are now delivering an ever growing range of items to consumers and corporate entities, particularly across the Dublin region: from coffee and pastries to medical supplies and devices.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
From RTÉ Radio 1’s Brendan O’Connor Show, Bobby Healy from Manna Aero drone deliveries on delivering fast food around Dublin
But as the phenomenon of drone deliveries increases, the concerns of home owners and residents negatively impacted by the rapid rise in the number of flyovers have attracted ever greater media attention. In recent weeks, the Air Accident Investigation Unit reported on an incident in Dublin in 2022 where a man was struck by a propeller blade which had separated from a drone and had fallen on him as he mowed the lawn. Fears in relation to the potential for privacy breaches have also generated considerable attention as have complaints in relation to the noise generated by the whirring of the drones themselves.
Unfortunately, the legal landscape surrounding the use of drones is far from clear. While to some extent drone usage is regulated at both an Irish and European level – with the Irish Aviation Authority playing an important role in this regard – many practical legal questions remain unanswered. Can a home owner, for instance, prevent drone delivery companies from flying over their property? Or can they sue for trespass where flyovers do occur in the airspace over their home?
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
From RTÉ Radio 1’s News at One, Tom Kuhn from Wing on how drones are being used to deliver medical supplies to private hospitals
In the past, it was said that the owner of land owned everything reaching up to the heavens and down to hell. With the arrival of modern aviation, this understanding of the scope of property ownership shifted. Conscious of the need to balance, on one hand, the rights of landowners to enjoy the use of their land, with, on the other hand, the rights of the general public to take advantage of air travel, the courts in England determined that the ownership of land carried with it rights in air space above the land only to such height as is ‘necessary for the ordinary use and enjoyment’ of it and the structures on it. This approach was reflected in Irish law via section 55 of the Air Navigation and Transport Act 1936 which states that a landowner may not sue for trespass or nuisance where aircraft fly over property at a height which is ‘reasonable’ having regard to wind, weather and all the circumstances.
However, these statements of law provide little guidance in answering the questions now increasingly raised with the rapid growth in the use of drone technology: what is ‘reasonable’ or ‘necessary for the ordinary use and enjoyment’ of the land is anyone’s guess.
Ireland is not alone in having as yet failed to clarify the law in this area. Almost all jurisdictions are grappling with similar issues. Research from America, for example, also speaks to the confusion existing there as to the scope of landowners’ rights to prevent or exclude drones from flying over their property. Influential brands including Amazon and Walmart have met tough opposition in seeking to develop policies facilitating the use of commercial drone delivery services.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
From RTÉ Radio 1’s Morning Ireland, Jamie Cudden from Dublin City Council on the council’s launch of the Drone Innovation Project
Yet, necessity is the mother of invention and innovative solutions are being proposed. Rather than downgrading the rights of property owners in relation to the air space over their land, the most viable solution actually appears to be the opposite. The simplest and fairest method of introducing clarity in this area for all concerned – home owners, residents and drone delivery companies alike – is arguably to develop legislation clearly defining the height to which private property ownership extends into the air space.
In this model, and conscious of the need to reduce the potential nuisance caused by drones, it could be stated that home owners’ rights include the air space up to 60 or 70 metres above their property (delivery drones currently operate between 50-65 metres). Some homeowners or residents will be happy to let the air space over their property be used, whether in return for payment or otherwise. Where this happens, it could allow for the emergence of digital air space sharing platforms (like AirBnB) to facilitate temporary flight paths for drone deliveries. Where homeowners or residents do not consent to such flyovers, an air corridor designated for drone use over the 60 or 70 metre limit would have to be used.
It is essential that issues regarding the ownership of lower altitude airspace are addressed as a matter of priority
By forcing drone delivery companies, in particular, to either acquire the consent of landowners if they wish to fly below this threshold, or operate in a corridor above it, some of the heat may be taken out of the debate. While this proposal appears to be the strongest solution yet developed, it is not without its flaws. At a practical level, it would, for one, be hard to prove that a drone was flying below the 60 or 70 meter limit and was trespassing. However, technology and data solutions could surely be developed or repurposed to mitigate these risks through the sharing of flight logs or other information captured in flight.
Ultimately, the status quo appears unsustainable and solutions, whether those set out here or otherwise, will have to be found. In the interest of all concerned, it is essential that issues regarding the ownership of lower altitude airspace are addressed as a matter of priority.
Follow RTÉ Brainstorm on WhatsApp and Instagram for more stories and updates
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ